Stomach Noises and What They Can Tell You about Your Health

Stomach noises can be bothersome and come at the worst moment, but they are natural reflexes of the stomach and abdominal tissues that can give clues about what is happening with your health. Here we will explain why these noises are made, the main signs, and how to detect them.

Are stomach noises normal?

Yes and no. Let’s begin with yes: when there are strange sounds in the abdominal area it is generally due to a natural reaction to the need for food, water or because your clothing is very tight. In all of these cases the person identifies the problem and knows why and how to correct it. They are the cases that are easiest to identify and their signs about health are not of serious relevance. Below we will talk about abdominal noises that are accompanied by pain or discomfort.

Stomach noises, pain and how to treat them

The following category of sounds produced in the stomach is more complex. In fact, the diagnosis and treatment of each one requires a clinical analysis. Generally these noises come with pain, normally a burning feeling, a shooting pain in the belly or sensation of movement in the abdominal area.

Bubbling noise with burning pain

This is a surface pain that is caused by skin reactions to pressure. This process causes noises that the person perceives in the entire abdominal area but can’t quite locate. In spite of this, they feel a pain that is described as if the enter inside and outside was burning. The best recommendation is do a fecal analysis to rule out bacterial processes.

Localized noise, shooting pain

This is a sound that can be precisely located in any part of the abdominal area. This noise causes pain that patients usually describe as if they were being stabbed with a spear or a spike. Unlike the burning pain, this tends to be a deep pain and has to do with problems in the muscles that contract as a result of an injury.

Loud noises, shooting pain

When the sounds from the stomach are loud, it can indicate conditions in sensitive passages or areas along the entire digestive tract. They tend to be caused by a viral infection or by bacteria. One of its main characteristics is the type of pain that the person describes. Often the patient states that they feel as if they were being whipped in the abdomen.

Other causes of stomach noises

Obstruction of blood vessels causes clots that can cause obstruction in the mesentery arteries that supply the entire intestinal tract.

An intestinal obstruction caused by a tumor, hernia or clogs often causes stomach noises.

A condition that paralyzes intestinal activity is produced in the ileum. Many disturbances can cause the intestines to contract and make strange noises.

Whether your stomach noises are bothersome or not, or even if they aren’t painful, it is of great important to pay attention to them since most of the time they signal an acute problem, in advanced cases they may signal one of the problems mentioned above. What’s certain is that they always signify a change in health.